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Community Corner

NY Giants star to speak on civility on gridiron

STAMFORD, Conn. – New York Giants Super Bowl star and team captain George Martin will talk about “Civility on the Gridiron” on Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. at The Ferguson Library in Stamford.

 

Bullying among professional and college athletes has been in the news lately, and Martin will share his insights about these issues. A defensive end for the New York Giants for 14 years, he was a team captain for the Super Bowl XXI championship team and during his career was one of the league’s most fearsome pass rushers. He was a member of the 1986 team that won a franchise record 14 games.

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Martin’s talk is part of a series on Civility in America, organized by Sacred Heart University, The Dilenschneider Group, Purdue Pharma LP and The Ferguson Library in conjunction with Hearst Media Group in Connecticut.

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Throughout his career on and off the field, Martin has led numerous initiatives to promote unity and good will, including as the president of the National Football League Alumni Association and as the co-founder of Minority Athlete Networking etc, Inc., an organization that provides urban youths with  positive role models, scholarships and mentoring.

 

From September 16, 2007, to June 21, 2008, Martin walked 3,003 miles, averaging about 22 miles per day, from New York City to San Diego, to raise money for “a Journey for 9/11,” the charitable organization he founded in support of the thousands of rescue and recovery workers of Ground Zero who developed serious illnesses as a result of their service.  His Journey is credited with helping to influence the passage of federal legislation which is providing funding to support the health needs of these responders.

 

Martin is currently writing a book about his historic Journey, planned for publication in fall 2014.  Though his accomplishments on the field as a Super Bowl-winning co-captain of the New York Giants are legendary, Martin’s book will not be a a traditional “football book,” but rather the story of the events and people in his life that led to both his choice and his ability to take this remarkable walk across the American landscape.  Martin’s tale is of  a man who rejects the title of “football hero” in favor of honoring those who are among the true heroes of our society – police, firefighters, EMTs, military personnel, and selfless volunteers who rose to rebuild our nation after a horrendous terrorist attack.

 

Public opinion polls show that in every sector of society, civility has declined, and this decline is manifested in political attacks, lack of personal decency, outrage in the media and cyber-assaults in the blogosphere.

 

Robert L. Dilenschneider, founder and president of The Dilenschneider Group, who conceived the idea for the series, said, “Incivility has become socially acceptable and commonplace. The lack of civility in every segment of society, from politics to academia, from the media to the blogosphere, from talk radio to the pulpit, has become a crippling epidemic that threatens the future of our country. Something must be done.”

 

For information about the series, call (203) 964-1000 or register online at http://www.sacredheart.edu/civilityinamerica

 

 

Contact for Civility in America series:

Patrick Malone

The Dilenschneider Group

(e) pmalone@dgi-nyc.com

(o) 212-922-0900

 

Contact for George Martin:

Jay S. Winuk

Winuk Communications, Inc.

jay@winukpr.com

845-277-1160

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